Given the triple axel which will become standard in future competitions, how will this lyrical talented skater progress in the future?
Will she maintain her lead over her peers?: Bebe, Katy, Emilie?
Can she continue to surpass Jenny in next year's competitions? (Her age will not be a declining factor for going to the Olys.)
At next year's Nats, can she overtake the two American divas?
Are all these questions too early to answer at this time?
Joe
Kimmie has the look of someone who hasn't grown either up or out as much as she might later. If she does either, her 3A may go west.
I think this was a huge confidence booster for her...
I think that Sasha should worry about her 2nd place... because I'll bet Kimmie can get a bit of help with her presentation marks now that she's on teh map
OT: I really liked her Ex numberShows there's only great things to come!
I would say the future looks bright for her, but...she's only 15. What about that growth spurt/body change that occurs in many girls around 16/17? If she happens to grow again she'll have to fight through it, and she may lose that 3A. If she can stand the pressure she's my pick for the 3rd Olympic spot.
Kimmie is AWESOME! I loved the 3axel and 3/2/2. Talk about a huge technical advancement for our US ladies. She is amazing and oh, so young. She's one to keep your eyes on!
Many think Kimmie should've had the silver medal. How great for her! She got some first place ordinals (until Michelle skated) and I think the judges LOVED her! So cute, so refreshing, so unrehearsed in her interview.
I really like her!
She's in for the expectations and the pressure for sure. Kimmie looked like a really sweet innocent girl. She kept saying she had nothing to lose by going for the triple axel - and she was right. But from here on out she'll start having more and more to lose. The pressure will be on - will she or won't she do the triple axel. If she doesn't then there's Uncle Dickie's and the media disappointment. If she does, well its true she did several clean ones, but in practice she also under rotated several and fell on several. And now there's COP - and downgrading and worse yet falling. And while she's busy chasing Sasha and Michelle, Emily, Bebe, and Katie will be chasing her, and Emily and Bebe are right on her heels. In fact many have argued that Bebe skated better than Kimmie in spite of the 3 axel, and could have easily been placed over her, and I agree. And Emily was way undermarked, but not for long I think. And then there's little Mao Asada who's got the triple axel and has the presentation to boot. And then there's the body change that she will no doubt go through, and the Media pressure, and the Hype as "the annointed one." And I really hope she doesn't injure herself - she had to stop training it recently because it hurt her back. She's in for the Michelle/Sasha roller coaster ride regarding her career - I hope she has the mental toughness to survive.
The one she landed in LP was half turn cheated. But the other two ABC captured in her practice and warmup she did on side were much better ones.
I'd wait until she passed puberty to make judgement on her great jump ability. Hope the rotation of her 3A would grow with her body if the puberty monster hit her. Besides there was an article that she stopped trainning of 3A two monthes because of back pain...I'm not getting too excited right now.
However I give the prop for her guts to try it out.
I think that Kimmie has a way to go before she threatens Sasha's placing. The fact that Sasha beat her this time shows that Kimmie needs to get more polished. I don't think that the 3A should have been called so. It was cheated and she pulled off a beeter one in practice. However, if she is dong this well now, I see only good things for her in the future. Katy Taylor seemed to unravel under the pressure.
I do not see the 3A as being standard for women, not now and not in the future. Most of the skaters attempting 3As at this time are young, under 16. They are able to complete 3.5 rotations because their bodies are undeveloped. But when skaters start to mature, their hips develop and they don't have the upper body strength to raise the body high enough in the air to complete the rotations.
There have been very few ladies doing the 3A into their late teens and 20's. Midori was still able to pull it off, but once Tanya Harding put on a few extra pounds, she was never able to land it again.
I think she's actually grown a bit already. The summer before she won novice, I was training in Delaware and none of us could figure out who the little girl was doing clean triple lutzes until our coach made some remark. She was 11 or 12 at the time, but she was really short (probably about 4'6" if that).
If the triple axel was cheated, it should not have been accepted as a triple axel. Besides, I think that the hype around it is not good for the future of a young skater.
I saw Kimmie in Junior GP final, and I thought that her skating definetely does not deserve such high presentation scores she appears to have gotten in US Nationals. Her time for them has not arrived yet, in my opinion. We will also see how she fares in jumping after a couple of years.
She did it right in front of me. I saw it as less than the 1/4 curve which is acceptable under the rules for landing jumps. What she didn't do well was the flow out of the jump. Given the CoP points, I would give her a minus 1 for not having the flow out. But imo she definitely fulfilled the requirement of the take off and the air rotations.Originally Posted by mzheng
I think the posters pointing out the body changes which will take place within the next year are quite valid. That has always been the downfall of many jumpin beans. Tara and Sasha did not have that problem, but others did notably MK and IS. We'll be watching Kimmie, Bebe and Katy in Juniors next season and hopefully, ESPN will consider this for public showing.
Joe
Last edited by Joesitz; 01-17-2005 at 09:06 AM.
After watching a curvy and hefty Sarah struggle to get off the ground to land a couple of 2 toes at SOI this week, I realize how incredibly true that statement is.
Yes, I have watched Kimmie's 3a on slow mo and it wasn't complete..Under COP scoring it will be counted as a 2a.. I do love her though! Although, her presentation/artistry needs to mature to pass Sasha.. I really see her making the Oly team next yr.. Also, after Michelle retires I see her in 2007 as one of the top five ladies in the World..IMHO
I watche it from ABC slomo. It definitely more than 1/4 cheated.
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